🎠What it means to have grown up with a chronically anxious parent
Growing up with a chronically anxious parent meant inheriting their constant state of alert, learning to see the world as fundamentally unsafe and unpredictable.
You may have learned to scan every environment for potential dangers, real or imagined, because your parent's nervous system was always broadcasting emergency signals. Their anxiety became your normal, teaching you that relaxation was irresponsible and that something terrible was always just around the corner. You absorbed their catastrophic thinking patterns, learning to imagine worst-case scenarios for every situation and feeling guilty or naive when you tried to feel optimistic or carefree.
You may have become their emotional support system, managing their fears while never learning how to regulate your own nervous system. Their need for constant reassurance taught you that other people's comfort was more important than your own peace, and that questioning their anxious predictions was selfish or dangerous. You learned to carry their worry as evidence of how much you cared.